Man City vs Liverpool: How Pep Guardiola can use new weapon Omar Marmoush to hurt Premier League leaders | Football News

“Just the beginning”. Omar Marmoush’s post on X following his striking hat-trick against Newcastle last weekend had multiple meanings. It announced his official arrival to the Premier League. But more than that, became the symbol of Manchester City’s newest chapter. Pep Guardiola’s latest remodel.

Marmoush was earmarked by the club’s hierarchy as a player who could make an immediate difference. An all-round forward to rival the best in Europe.

Even before his treble in the 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle – one of the most eye-catching individual performances of 2024/25 – his direct running and clever movement with late arrivals into the box had caused plenty of problems during a 3-1 win over Chelsea.

His energy and dynamism have been a welcome, albeit rare, source of joy amid the mire of Man City’s dwindling season. Their dramatic downturn might have strong-armed action in the January window but whichever way a £60m-spend on Marmoush is rationalised, it looks like smart business. This was no panic buy.

The 26-year-old, entering his peak years, is one of few players without the physical exhaustion and mental scars that appear to be plaguing the rest of Guardiola’s browbeaten champions. Marmoush looks fresh, with untapped talent, capable of easing the burden as well as carrying it.

The forward will be an obvious cause for concern for Arne Slot as he prepares a game plan for Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. A worry for Trent Alexander-Arnold too.

Marmoush can dribble 1v1, make use of instinctive combination play and quick switches, run from outside to in or hug the touchline, and has already struck up a good working partnership with Josko Gvardiol down the left. City’s options to go short or long – or somewhere in between – have increased exponentially.

Michael Wimmer, one of Marmoush’s former coaches at VfB Stuttgart, told Sky Sports earlier this season that the Egyptian international has exceptional “orientation skills”. What he meant was an ability to problem solve and adapt no matter how opposition teams set up. He can play in between the lines, in tight areas, or exploit space behind.

His flexibility is likely to be the factor that made him so attractive to Man City in the first place. Erling Haaland has scored 19 Premier League goals this season but he’s often cut an isolated figure. Phil Foden, a shadow of his former self, has chipped in seven but the burden has been Haaland’s to carry. He needed help.

Take City’s most recent victory over Newcastle as the perfect example of a load lightened. It was the first Premier League game this season in which City didn’t concede a single big chance, while their Expected Goals faced (0.48) was their third-fewest of the campaign.

Marmoush took four shots and scored with three of them, from an xG value of 0.71. He was the most fouled (3) player in the match and tore a very experienced Kieran Trippier to shreds, adding far more nuance to City’s play.

Variety was evident in his finishing, too, while a midfield masterclass from Nico Gonzalez helped stabilise and provide a platform from which to build.

How might all that help this Sunday? Well, Pep has now been rearmed with the ability to troubleshoot. City have had their wings clipped this year – by the loss of Rodri, defensive injuries and the mental strain of unrelenting expectation – but the emergence of Egypt’s other superstar forward is a lifeline. Mo Salah might have to share his spotlight.

“Nothing is eternal,” said Pep on Wednesday after crashing out of the Champions League at the earliest point for 12 years. “It’s the year we’ve been the worst.” But while their limp exit to Real Madrid will have hurt it may also act as relief. This City team, so early in its latest evolution, were not going to win Europe’s elite competition this season.

Why prolong the process?

Haaland’s absence – an unused substitute at the Bernabeu – was surely acceptance of that fact.

Sunday 23rd February 4:00pm


Kick off 4:30pm

All hope is not lost in the Premier League, though. Since Christmas only Liverpool and Arsenal have won more points than Manchester City.

The rivalry may carry less jeopardy on this occasion given the hosts have long been out of the title race but it still matters. City would take immense pleasure from putting a dent in the league leaders’ chances of stealing their crown, as well as undermine any suggestion that Slot’s Liverpool have the credentials to rival City’s domestic dominance of the past five or six years.

The Reds are in the midst of an energy-sapping run – five games in a fortnight.

Their last eight league games might have seen them stretch their unbeaten run to 22 but they’ve dropped eight points in the process.

They were deservedly held to a draw at home to struggling Man Utd in their first outing of 2025, came from behind to secure a point at Nottingham Forest, scored twice in stoppage time to beat Brentford, and run close by both Bournemouth and then Wolves last weekend, in a second half where they failed to have a single shot – Wolves had 10.

Is Slot’s reluctance to rotate catching up with him? Alexander-Arnold is one of 10 players to start seven or more of his side’s eight league games since the turn of the year. His reluctance to defend 1v1 is a problem, too, given Marmoush’s directness and capacity to draw fouls.

Youri Tielemans scored Aston Villa’s equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Wednesday by peeling off Alexander-Arnold, while Lucas Digne roamed free down the full-back’s left channel before standing a ball up for Ollie Watkins to score a second. He did atone by netting the leveller but was hooked soon after.

The opportunity is there should Marmoush wish to take advantage.

Pep is adamant he remains the right man to lead Manchester City into this new era. He continues to remind reporters that “we achieved something unique in our country and in Europe”. And now with the right combination of time, patience, and recruitment nouse, he’s adamant he can do it again.

Marmoush will no doubt prove to be a huge asset in that process. How that helps in the here and now, though, will be scrutinised on Sunday. Are we about to see the latest twist in this fascinating tale?

Watch Manchester City vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League this Sunday from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm